A Warm Weekend
by Numbatstuff
Summary: Rachel discovers the hidden side of Jacob Hood over the course of one, very warm, July weekend. Warnings for language and sex in later chapters, but all in the context of the overall story - I think! .
1. Desire

My view of Jacob Hood has always been of a complex, compassionate, sometimes dark, but very human individual. This story is about Rachel's discovery of his hidden side and her growing passion for him. This is the first of 10 chapters.

I have selected a soundtrack to accompany each chapter. The narrative comes from Rachel's POV, the soundtrack reflects Jacob's view. Apologies if the music isn't your cup of tea, but it's what was in my head at the time of writing!!! I did try to paste in a youtube link for each song but haven't been able to do it, sorry. If you have time, go there and have a listen for yourself!

Soundtrack - Because the Night: Patti Smith

"Desire is the hunger, is the fire I breathe

Love is a banquet on which we feed"

* * *

"You know that life isn't really about love & romance & happy endings don't you?" he said to her, his green eyes boring intensely into her blue ones. "That most people simply have no idea of reality."

They were sitting in a darkened bar, hidden in the back corner away from the laughing crowds. She could tell he was anxious about something, but had no idea what was wrong. They hadn't worked on a case together for several weeks and she was surprised when she received his call asking her to meet him early on a warm Friday evening.

"What is life about Jacob?" she murmured softly, not really wanting to hear the answer.

"Desire," he answered, his velvet voice barely audible. His eyes narrowed, "desire & lust & want." Her breath caught in her throat as she stared back at him. He had spoken those words with a fierceness that she'd never heard from him before. This wasn't her Hood. Her Hood had a twinkle in his eye and a quiet irreverence that she'd silently adored from the first moment she met him. Her Hood exasperated her with his impracticality and amazed her with his ability. _This_ man was dark & intense & troubled.

"How long have you been here Hood?" she asked quietly. "Do you need me to take you home?" He looked at her, his gaze never faltering.

"Oh I've been here for hours" he finally said, "but I don't need you to take me home. I don't need you to save me, I don't need you to organise anything or to drive me anywhere. I don't even need you to make me laugh". He paused and his lips twitched almost imperceptibly as his eyes bored into her. "I just need you."

She stared back at him. She knew now was the time for her to escort him out of the bar and drive him home. To make sure he was put safely to bed to sleep off whatever the hell it was he'd been drinking all afternoon, but instead she just stared back at him. His intense gaze had her feeling trapped and exposed and helpless. The passion and desire in his words rendered her speechless.

He cupped the heel of his hand under his chin and leaned his head onto it, the tip of his little finger brushing his lip. She realised he had a cigarette between his long fingers. She'd never seen him smoke before, in fact she hated smoking and she thought he did too. But when he put it to his lips, inhaled, and blew the smoke languidly across the table away from her, she couldn't take her eyes off his mouth. She thought it was probably the sexiest thing she'd ever seen.

She felt herself drifting, losing herself in his presence. She snapped herself back to reality, took the cigarette off him and stubbed it out in the ashtray. "I think I might have a drink now" she said crisply.

While he was off at the bar ordering her a large orange juice, she took a few deep breaths. "Come on Rachel" she said to herself crossly, "you know the feelings you have for him do not include this. He is your friend, your colleague, your responsibility. It doesn't matter what he says to you it can never work. Be the adult here and control the situation. Physical attraction is not the basis of a sound working relationship."

As he came back with drinks in hand, he placed them both on the table in front of her and sat down next to her, his leg bushing against hers. She noticed that he was drinking mineral water.

"I haven't been drinking Rachel," he said, noticing her glance at his glass. "I know you think I've been sitting here for hours getting hammered and whatever I say is just the booze talking. But it's not like that. I didn't just call you because I thought you'd be an easy lay." She gasped, her Hood would never, ever speak like that. Especially to her.

He put the side of his finger under her chin and turned her face to his "Look at me Rachel. You know, you know full well that I want you". Unable to look into his eyes she focussed on his mouth, on the words that he was forming. "You know I've wanted you from the first moment I met you. Every day I've worked with you has been a struggle between responsibility and desire. Look at me". She raised her eyes to meet his "And I've had _enough_."

"Um………." She tried to speak. She was glad she was sitting down because the touch of his hand on her face, his intense green eyes and startling words had rendered legs weak, her stomach churning.

He put his other hand on her lips. "Ssshhhh", he whispered "just let me talk. I know you probably think I've been celibate for the last two years, but I have had other women over the time we've been working together. Some just sex, some of them friends. I'm not desperate or lonely or looking for pity. But life is about want and lust and desire, and _you_ are the one I want. _You_ are the one I lust after. _You_ are the one I desire."

She looked into his eyes, absolutely speechless. She knew she should do something. Do something or say something. But she just looked. Lost in the intensity of his gaze.

He removed his finger from her lips, leant forward and replaced it with his soft mouth. His lips gently brushed hers and she felt his hot breath feathering her face. "I'm not promising you love & romance & a happy ending" he whispered "but I _have_ to have you." His kiss became more urgent as his mouth searched hers. His tongue flickered over her lips, and she tasted the cigarette smoke on him. She felt her resolve disappearing and her nerves tingling. Her body responded to his kiss, pressing closer into his warm chest. His hand trailed down her throat and brushed the side of her breast, and she felt his passion pulsate through him.

"Rachel", he growled into her ear, his voice thick with desire. "We had better leave now or I won't be held responsible for my actions".

As she stood, he grabbed her arm roughly and pulled her to face him. His eyes flashed, dark and intense. "You will come home with me won't you – we _will_ finish this?" She stared at his amazing face, at the beautiful man before her, and was lost. After a few moments she finally spoke.

"Jacob", she said, "I don't care about love & romance & happy endings. I never have. I don't want you bringing me flowers and whispering sweet nothings in my ear. What I want is your body and your passion and your need."

She heard her voice speak the words but she felt like it was someone else talking.


	2. Lust

Rachel tries to summon her resistance, but begins to see Jacob through new eyes.

Soundtrack: Bad Things – Jace Everett

"When you walked in the air went out"

* * *

Whilst Jacob stopped at the bar to pay his tab, Rachel headed outside for some fresh air. She made her way over to her car & turned, leaning back on the drivers door as she waited for him, her arms folded across her chest. She was suddenly shocked by the realisation of what she'd said and what she'd done. Stupid, stupid, stupid, stupid, stupid. What was she going to do?

The warm July evening air was full of the fragrance of summer and she took a deep breath. This was crazy. She couldn't sleep with him, most certainly couldn't have a relationship with him. It would ruin her career, maybe ruin his. Most certainly it would end their chances of a long term working relationship. No, when he came out of the bar, she would put him in a cab and send him home.

Then he came out of the bar.

As he walked across the car park she realized how tall & lean he was. Normally bundled up in layers of suits & sweaters & jackets & coats – his middle aged scientist garb as she liked to think of it - she rarely saw him dressed down. She had sat with him for one long night as he slept off the effect of hallucinogens, but she had been more concerned for his wellbeing than checking out his body on that occasion.

On this warm evening though, as he strode towards her, she noticed he wore a simple, pale grey cotton, v-necked t-shirt, a scruffy old faded pair of button fly jeans slung low on his hips, and leather thongs on his otherwise bare, brown feet. She could see a thin leather cord around his neck. He looked younger, relaxed, and he walked with a casual, confident gait. His arms swang free by his side and his eyes were fixed on her. She noted the strength in his bare arms and the play of his thigh muscles under his jeans. She wondered why his feet were so brown.

As he got closer, his eyes narrowed and she felt his penetrating gaze on her. She suddenly wanted to grab his shirt where it was tucked untidily into the front of his jeans and run her hand up his belly. Entwine her fingers through his thick dark hair, pull his gorgeous face down to hers and kiss him.

But she was Special Agent Rachel Young and she would never do such a thing. Instead she said to him with a questioning look, "Why, Dr Hood, I do believe you're feeling rather pleased with yourself – you look almost excited."

"Excited is not normally an adjective I would use to describe myself Agent Young" he replied with a quizzical shrug of his eyebrows, "but in this case I think you might just be right". He put his hands on the car, one on either side of her shoulders, his body barely millimetres from hers. "Do you have any idea why?"

She wanted to kiss his mouth, to taste him again, but instead turned around and busied herself unlocking the car door. He didn't move and she remained imprisoned by his arms. She stared at his left hand with its long fingers pressed hard against the roof of the car, and then his right. "I have no idea whatsoever," she said fighting the running battle between her intellect and her lust. "Now jump in the other side Hood, and I'll run you home. You know as well as I do that this can never happen".

"I think you'll do more than just run me home" he whispered into the side of her neck. "Anyway, I have my own car". She could feel the warmth of his breath on her ear, melting her resolve again. "You may be trying to deny it, but you _will_ be mine by the time this night is over."

"Jacob………….." she groaned.

He wrapped one strong arm around her waist and ran his other hand down the outside of her right leg and back up the inside of her thigh. His body was pressed close behind hers, enveloping her small frame.

"Why do you always wear long pants" he murmured as his hand reached her groin. "It would be so much easier for me to nail you in the back of the SUV if you wore a skirt from time to time."

She spun around, breaking his grip and looked into his laughing eyes. "There is no way on god's earth that you will be _nailing me_ in the back of the SUV", she snapped planting her index finger firmly in the centre of his chest. "If you want this body I expect a bit of luxury and respect".

She realised all to late that she'd fallen into his trap. He'd gotten a rise out of her and feisty, lustful Rachel had somehow agreed to come home with him – for the second time that evening. He folded his arms across his chest as he laughed, tucking his hands under his armpits, thumbs on his biceps."So on the kitchen bench is out of the question then", he laughed, "and in the shower?"

"Seems you have it all planned out" she said grudgingly, trying to pry her eyes away from his muscular arms.

"Oh, I've had plenty of time to plan" he replied, "months & months & months in fact. There's not a single room in my house that we won't be having sex in eventually" he grinned. "You mark my words Rachel".

Just as she was about to slap his face, he turned away and starting walking. "Where are you going now" she called after him. He turned and talked as he walked backwards.

"Well, seeing as you won't be leaving my bedroom for several days, I'd better go and stock up on supplies – you know the kind of thing, champagne, whipped cream. And I suggest you stop by home and pick up your sexiest underwear. I'll meet you at mine in about half an hour". And with that he ducked effortlessly into his car and was gone.

She stood there for a few minutes, silently fuming. He knew full well that she was as desperate for him as he was for her and it made her crazy. She wanted to be in control. To be able to say no. But after his words and his mouth and the warmth of his body, she couldn't.

Instead she found herself driving to her apartment, packing an overnight bag and changing into a cool cotton summer dress & sandals. "I feel like a silly teenager," she thought as she looked at her reflection in the mirror. She let her hair down & brushed it out, glossed her lips with a pale summer shade and sprayed her favourite perfume.

But as she threw her bag into the back seat of her car, wound down the window and turned up the volume on her favourite cd, she realised that sometimes, feeling like a silly teenager was the best feeling in the world.


	3. Want

Soundtrack: Don't Worry Baby – The Beach Boys

"Well, it's been building up inside of me for oh, I don't know how long

I don't know why but I keep thinking something's bound to go wrong"

* * *

Rachel had been sitting in her car outside of Jacob's house for some time, listening to her music and letting her mind wander, imagining the likely events of the evening. The late summer afternoon was turning into dusk and a warm breeze caressed her face through the open window.

The barking of a nearby dog jolted her abruptly out of her daydream and she looked at her watch. With a start she realised Jacob was a good hour overdue. He was only supposed to have stopped at the store, so she couldn't imagine why he'd be so late. She rang his home & cell numbers but both went straight to voicemail. She sat there for a few moments, then started the engine of her car. She would backtrack the route he should have taken from the bar to the store and then to home. Maybe he'd forgotten to put gas in the car or was stuck in the store trying to remember what to buy. Her erotic daydreams of him disappeared and she fell effortlessly back into handler mode.

As she drove into the darkening evening, her mind was racing with possibilities and she tried to calm herself. It wasn't like her to worry. The scene that she came upon a short time later though was worse than she could have possibly imagined.

In the middle of a busy intersection, a few miles past the grocery store, she saw a car smashed headfirst into a traffic signal pole. The intersection was brightly lit with the flashing red and blue lights of paramedics, police & firefighters. The occupant of the car was obviously trapped inside and the emergency services were using equipment to cut open the vehicle.

Rachel pulled into a nearby carpark and took a few deep breaths to settle her nerves. The car wasn't Jacob's. He must just be stuck in traffic on the other side of the lights she thought to herself. She jumped out of her vehicle and walked quickly across the intersection in the direction he would have come from. As she walked, she rang his cellphone again but there was still no answer.

Suddenly her eyes were drawn to another hive of activity down a ditch on the side of the road. She pushed her way through a small crowd of onlookers and was horrified to see Jacob's car flipped on its roof in the ditch. She ran down to it but the car was empty. The drivers seatbelt flapped in the breeze, cut from its harness.

Rachel looked around desperately. There was no sign of him. She ran back up to the road and quickly spotted an ambulance parked nearby. She stumbled and almost fell onto the sharp bitumen in her haste to get over to it. Tears stung her eyes as reached the back of the vehicle only to find it empty save for a couple of paramedics packing up some equipment.

"I, I'm looking for the driver of the vehicle down there" – she pointed towards Jacob's car. Seeing her distress, the paramedic closest to her took her arm and sat her down in the back of the ambulance.

"He's ok, he's ok, don't worry," he said gently. "We've checked him over thoroughly and apart from being shaken and sore, Jacob's fine". Rachel looked around wildly. "He's over there sitting on the footpath". The paramedic motioned towards a figure sitting just outside of the range of the streetlights. "I've given him some coffee and a blanket and he's just taking it easy for a little time before we let him go. I'll check him out in another little while. He didn't want to come to the hospital".

"Thankyou" she stammered and walked quickly towards Jacob. He was sitting on the ground, knees bent and elbows resting on them. His hands were clasped in front of him, blanket over his shoulders, his dark head drooping.

He looked up as he heard her familiar footsteps approach. He rubbed his tired face with one hand and looked her up & down from between his fingers. "Nice dress".

She sat down on the footpath and put her arm around him. He looked at her wearily and without realising what she was doing, she kissed his face gently. "Are you sure you're ok, Jacob" she asked quietly.

"Nothing that a roll in the back of the SUV wouldn't fix" he replied with a wry smile.

"Don't try & make me laugh now," she said, suddenly angry with him. "I can't believe I ever, ever let you drive. You've been in a serious accident. I really think you should go to the hospital and get checked out properly".

"No Rachel, I really am fine," he said. "That poor guy over there is the one you should be worried about. Ran a red light and smashed straight into that pole. They've been trying to get him out for almost an hour. Pushed me into that ditch on the way through but I had my seatbelt on. Apart from the embarrassment of hanging upside down for a few minutes 'til they cut the belt, I'm perfectly ok. Just a bit tired and sore".

She hugged him closer and rubbed his tense shoulders through the blanket. "Don't know that I'll be performing at my best tonight, though," he said with a wink.

"So you still haven't given up that crazy idea then" she said, shaking her head. "Of course I wouldn't want you at anything less than you're very best so I'm happy to wait til you're, um, up to it, so to speak."

She was lying of course – she still wanted him desperately and seeing him hurt and troubled only bought out her protective nature, made her want him even more. "Of course, you could just lie back and let me take care of you" she whispered. "It might just be the best night of your life."

She turned his face to hers and tenderly kissed his cheekbones and his tired eyes. She just wanted to fix everything. She couldn't help but feel responsible for him and she briefly wondered whether it was her just her training as his handler that made her feel this way. She wished she had been the one in the car – despite his jokes and bravado, she still felt herself to be the stronger of the two. Still considered him to be in need of her protection.

His thick lashes fluttered as he opened his eyes. His green gaze looked searchingly into her's as if he stared hard enough, he would be able to read her mind. "Rachel", he said softly, "_you_ are not my protector. This was not _your_ fault. It was just an accident. Nothing more, nothing less. I don't want you to constantly feel you have to take care of me," he whispered. "I want to take care of _you _Rachel. I want to protect you, provide for you, thrill you, complete you."

He turned his face upwards to the wind and let it play on his cheeks, gently ruffling his tousled hair. "Is there anything I can do Jacob?" she asked quietly. "Is there anything I can get for you, anything you want?"

He took a deep breath of the warm night air and closed his eyes. "The only thing I want you to do my gorgeous Rachel, is to drive me. Drive me to the sea."


	4. Need

As Jacob and Rachel hit the road, I couldn't help but choose the greatest driving song ever to accompany them. Hope you're still hanging in there with me - we've got a long way to go yet!!!

Soundtrack: Thunder Road - Bruce Springsteen

"Don't run back inside, darlin' you know just what I'm here for

So you're scared and you're thinking that maybe we ain't that young anymore"

* * *

Now she knew he needed some medical attention.

"Jacob, how about we make a stop at the hospital. Let them check you over properly". He didn't speak. Just sat there on the footpath, his eyes closed, face turned towards the evening breeze.

Rachel saw the paramedic she had spoken to earlier making his way over to them. She got to her feet and spoke to him quietly. "Is there a chance of concussion or shock?" she asked. "It's just, well, ……..".

"Maam, we've checked him out thoroughly. He's lucid and coherent, pupils are fine, blood pressure, pulse, everything. He was firmly held by the seatbelt and his face & head show no signs of a blow, so we really have no reason to suspect a concussion".

"But," Rachel said worriedly, turning to look at him sitting on the footpath, "but he wants to go to the sea".

The paramedic shrugged, "well it is a warm night, bit of a drive though" he laughed.

"Excuse me Dr Hood, but I'd just like to check you out one more time before we let you leave. If you could come back to the ambulance, we'll just give you another once over just to be on the safe side".

Jacob got to his feet and walked with the paramedic back towards the flashing lights. Rachel watched him. There was no limp, no sign of weakness in his step. She was trying to rationally assess his condition but couldn't help but notice his broad shoulders in his cotton t-shirt and the sexy motion of his butt in his faded jeans. A shiver ran up her spine and she suddenly felt cold despite the warm wind. "What was she doing? What was she thinking?"

She picked up the blanket and the empty coffee cup from the footpath and made her way over to the ambulance. "All's fine Dr Hood" the paramedic was saying to Jacob as Rachel arrived. "I'd be a bit careful about the beach though," he said. Jacob glanced quickly at Rachel with raised eyebrows. "Don't want you getting lost in the dark. Maybe a quiet night at home would be the best thing".

"Thankyou, thanks for your help". Jacob shook the paramedic's hand warmly and turned away from the ambulance, striding quickly into the night. Rachel hurried to catch up with him.

"Hey", she called, "wait for me, the car's over here".

"It's fine," he said, not looking back. "I'll get a cab. I have somewhere I need to go".

She caught up with him and put her hand on his back. "Wait Hood, don't be silly" she said breathlessly.

"Silly!" He stopped abruptly and turned, eyebrows knitted into a frown. "Explain 'silly' to me Rachel. _I _am going to the beach. If you don't want to come with me, that's fine. But I'm going."

"That's fine, that's fine Jacob, I'll take you wherever you want. Just come to the car." She guided him to the left in the direction of her parked car and she felt the tenseness in his forearm. "Do you need to go home for anything first? Is there anything I can get you?" They reached the vehicle and he climbed in. She noticed a slight wince of pain as he did up his seatbelt. "Jacob…….."

"I'm fine Rachel" he said quietly, "I can't tell you any more, I'm fine. Just give it a rest".

They stared silently out of the windscreen for a few minutes, the tension in the car high. Finally he spoke. "Bethany, Bethany Beach."

"But that's…………"

"It's 130 miles Rachel, should take us no more than 3 hours. Traffic will be good at this time of the night. We'll be there by 11.00." He leaned his head back on the headrest and closed his eyes.

"Bethany Beach - in Delaware?" she said.

"Yes. Bethany Beach. In Delaware."

With a silent sigh, she programmed Bethany Beach into her GPS, started the engine of the SUV and they set off. Jacob was right and traffic was mercifully quiet, so they made good time. She played her music quietly and he slept. Rachel was glad she'd packed an overnight bag, although he obviously had nothing. She wondered to herself how long they would have to stay, why he wanted to go there of all places. So much for their night of passion. "I don't think it was ever meant to happen," she admitted to herself. "It was a really, really bad idea".

"I'm sorry Rachel." The sound of his voice in the darkness jolted her back to reality. She turned her head quickly and found his eyes focussed on her face. "I'm sorry for making you do this, but you'll understand when we get there."

"Jacob, I'll take you anywhere you want. You know I will," she replied softly. "As long as you're ok."

"I will be" he replied and they finished the rest of the journey in silence.

It was just on 10.55pm when they pulled into a car park just off Coastal Highway and the vast Atlantic Ocean came into view. Glistening silver in the light of the full moon, they sat and watched the gentle waves roll in.

"It's lovely, isn't it?" Rachel said finally, hoping that he wasn't going to tell her to turn round and drive back to DC.

Jacob stared silently ahead, his face bathed in the moonlight that was streaming through the windscreen. "Go back out onto the road" he said. "Take a left, and keep driving 'til I tell you to stop". He reached over and put his hand on her thigh. "Keep driving Rachel. There's somewhere I need to take you. Somewhere you need to see."


	5. Truth

I know we've heard this song a million times, but it really does have beautiful lyrics, which fit this chapter so well.

Soundtrack: Chasing Cars – Snow Patrol

"If I lay here, if I just lay here

Will you lie with me and just forget the world"

* * *

They drove silently southwards, down the Coastal Highway, past the beachfront mansions. The highway eventually began to pull away from the sea and Jacob directed her to take a smaller road, which continued along, close to the beach. This road was much more narrow and windier.

"Just ahead on your left", said Jacob, there's a gravel track heading down to the beach, pull in there and keep following it". Rachel saw the opening and turned down the track. It wound through the dunes for a few minutes until it came to an end in front of a small, white weatherboard house. In the moonlight it appeared to glow ghostly, an apparition framed by the ocean.

"Come on" he said quietly, opened the car door and walked towards the house, his shoes scrunching in the gravel. Rachel stood next to the vehicle and watched him in the moonlight. He reached the house and opened the back door with a key on his key ring. He turned, "Rachel", he said, "it's ok, come…………"

She hesitated. She couldn't help feeling that this was a place she didn't belong. A private place.

He walked back and took her hand. "It's ok………. really," he said with a concerned smile. "I want you to be here. I want to show you." They walked together to the door of the house and he motioned for her to enter first.

She walked into a big open plan room and was absolutely astonished to find the most magnificent view of the ocean framed by a large set of picture windows at the front of the house. "It's beautiful Jake," she gasped "I don't think I've ever seen anything so beautiful. But whose house is this?"

"I knew you'd like it," he said coming up behind her and wrapping his arms tightly around her body. "This is my house. My real home. The place I live in DC is just a rental. I drive here every weekend if I can." He lowered his voice until it was barely a whisper. "Sometimes I just sit here, in the dark like this, watching, thinking".

She suddenly felt an ache in her chest. She turned her head and buried it into his shirt. She was trying desperately to stop the tears from coming, didn't want to let him see her cry. "Sssssh", he murmured into her hair. "It's ok my beautiful girl. You can cry all you want".

"I don't do crying," she whispered, "what the hell is wrong with me?"

"Sometimes you just have to cry because of the sheer, aching beauty of it all," he said quietly. "And if you don't understand why, then it's your soul that's crying".

They stood there for a while, weary after their long drive, each enjoying the intimacy of the other's warm body. Enjoying the peace.

Eventually, Jacob opened the picture windows and they went outside to sit on the sand in the warm summer air. He grabbed a rug, which had been tossed over the back of the couch, and a bottle of red & two glasses from the kitchen. They sat in companionable silence on the beach, drinking the wine, enjoying the chance to finally relax.

"I think I understand why you had to come here now," she said finally. He lay down on the rug and pulled her gently down next to him - they lay, heads together, looking up at the stars. After a while, Rachel's eyelids began to feel heavy and she had the eerie feeling that she had never been anywhere else – that her whole existence had been spent laying in that exact spot, next to that exact man, looking at those exact stars.

"Will you swim with me?" he said eventually.

"Um, I don't really swim much," she answered, "plus I don't have a swimsuit with me." He turned his face to hers and brushed her cheek gently with his lips.

"Underwear's fine with me," he whispered "or we could just swim naked." She sat up and looked down at his finely sculptured face in the moonlight.

"No Jacob," she said. "I'd prefer just to stay here and rest to be quite honest. It's been a long evening."

"That's completely ok," he said reaching up and running his hand down her cheek gently. "Do you understand that I need too though?" He looked at her and she suddenly recognised the need in his eyes. A need to get away from the stress of the last few hours. A need to feel clean again. And then she understood. She nodded.

He got to his feet and started stripping off his clothes. When he pulled his t-shirt over his head, she saw a single pearl hanging from the leather cord around his neck. She also saw an ugly welt running over his shoulder and across his chest.

"Oh Jake," she sighed, "you told me you were ok". He touched the angry red mark gingerly. His lips twitched as he struggled to think of something to say but in the end he just shrugged his eyebrows, and looked her in the eyes.

"It'll be fine" he said, "just a mark from the seatbelt. Seawater will do it good." He began unbuttoning his jeans and she turned her head away quickly.

"Rachel, look at me" he said, suddenly concerned. "What's the matter?"

"Um," she gulped, "nothing I just, um."

He laughed. "I can't swim in jeans – and I know you've seen a man in his underwear before. Less than his underwear in fact," he teased. "What about Mr Shoes – I'm sure you had him stripped off pretty damn quick."

"Well, yes, but I haven't seen you in your underwear," she said quietly.

"You can come over here and take my pants off for me if you'd prefer," he replied, "then you can look me in the eye instead of in the ……………"

She stopped him before he could continue. "I'm quite sure you can take your own pants off, Dr Hood".

"Ooooh, Dr Hood is it now?" he said with raised eyebrows. "It was Jake a minute ago! Well I guess I'll just take them off myself then," he said letting them drop to the ground with a flourish.

He crossed one foot over his knee and leaned down to pull the jeans over his foot, taking the leather shoe off at the same time, and repeated for the other foot. Mercifully for her sanity, he was wearing black hipster trunks.

"Don't worry, I'll save you further embarrassment and keep them on," he said with a wink.

He turned, and she savoured the view of his long strong legs and broad back in the moonlight as he made his way down the sand. As he got closer to the water's edge he sped up, breaking into a run as he reached the sea. He took a few running steps into the water and then dove flat. She heard his body slap the wave and then he was gone.

She glanced down at her watch. It was exactly midnight. Suddenly she felt alone. She wrapped her arms around her knees and shivered. Looking out to sea she was concerned by Jacob's absence. Where was he? Surely if he dived under he should come back up again. Her eyes urgently scanned the water, right, left, and then right again. She got to her feet. What if he'd hit his head, what if he _had_ been concussed in the accident and…………...

Suddenly, through the moonlit night, she made out a dark head off to her right, about 200m off the shoreline. She watched him swim parallel to the shore with an easy, loping stroke, cutting effortlessly through the inky black sea. Before she knew it, he was opposite her. He stopped swimming and floated on his back in the water. She kept her eyes on him, frightened to lose sight of him again.

He floated, resting, for a few moments before turning and disappearing under the water. She scanned the empty sea once more before eventually spotting him to her left. He swam back and floated in a repeat of his earlier actions. He repeated this over and over and Rachel found her eyelids beginning to feel heavy and droop.

Finally, she lay back down on the rug on her side, head resting on her outstretched arm as she looked out to sea. She continued to watch him as he swam, not wanting to take her eyes off him. Eventually though, she drifted off to sleep, too tired, too overwhelmed to stare at the ocean any longer.

In her dreams she became aware of Jacob's cool, wet, body next to hers. She felt him kiss her face gently, and she turned her head towards him and tasted the salt on his lips. He wrapped himself around her and they slept.


	6. Beauty

The soundtrack for this song may be a little less familiar to those of you in the US. If so, please take a few minutes to find it on youtube – it's really the song that inspired this whole story.

Soundtrack: Lovin' You - Paolo Nutini

"As you slide through the door with your morals on your sleeve

I think it's time for all those morals to leave

So lets get down and freaky baby, let's get restless baby,

Come on get crazy with me"

* * *

She awoke slowly, sun on her face, in the middle of a large white bed and stretched luxuriantly, enjoying the feel of the cool, cotton sheets. She looked around the room and found it to be simply furnished with nothing more than a large chest of drawers, an armchair and a couple of bedside tables. The walls were painted pale blue, the ceiling crisp white and the timber floor had been lime washed. The room was dominated by a large picture window giving a spectacular view of the restless blue ocean and a clean stretch of white sand. The clock on the wall read 10.30am

She listened, but could hear no noise other than the gentle sound of the sea. Rachel swung her feet onto the floor, pleased to find she was still clothed in the summer dress she had put on yesterday. "Always the gentleman," she thought to herself wryly.

She walked out into the open plan living, dining & kitchen area expecting to find Jacob, and was surprised when she discovered she was completely alone in the house. She went out onto the deck and looked up and down the beach but there was no sign of him.

Like the bedroom, the small house was furnished simply with an old double door cabinet, a big timber table and chairs, and a huge couch facing the picture window, looking out to sea. It was decorated in shades of blue, white and a pale sandy yellow, with the lime washed timber floor. On the walls hung some simple pieces of photography and art, and the room was dotted with beautiful shells and pieces of driftwood.

She felt completely relaxed and at home – she could well see why Jacob loved this place.

She poured herself a cup of coffee from the pot in the kitchen, and decided to take a shower to wash the sand out of her hair. She was absolutely astonished to find a beautifully decorated bathroom leading off the bedroom. Amazingly, it was tiled floor to ceiling with small, pristine white tiles interspersed with tiny glass mosaics in the vivid blue and deep green shades of the ocean.

As she stood under the steaming hot water delivered by the enormous showerhead, she remembered the feeling of Jacob's body wrapped around hers on the sand and wondered where he was.

After getting dressed into one of the two changes of clothes she had brought with her, a white skirt long enough to cover the scar on her leg and a pale blue short sleeved shirt, she towel dried her hair roughly and wandered out onto the deck.

This time she saw Jacob lying on his back on the sand, hands clasped behind his head. She wandered down to him.

Clothed in only a low-slung pair of board shorts, wet chest glistening in the sun, she could tell he was fresh out of the sea again. Her eyes couldn't help but focus on the ugly welt from the seatbelt etched deep into his skin, marring his perfect beauty. He looked completely relaxed though, and she realised as he lay there in the sun, why he was so brown.

She sat down on the sand next to him and touched the shimmering blue grey pearl that was hanging from the leather cord around his neck. He closed his hand over hers; his eyes remained closed.

"Aaaah, my sleeping beauty awakens at last," he said and the sound of his familiar velvety voice and the touch of his hand warmed her to her core.

"So you surf as well as swim?" she said questioningly, noting the old surfboard lying at his side. "Is there anything else you need to fill me in on?"

"It's ok, Ms Cynical," he said. "I don't write novels, or play the guitar or ride a white stallion bareback down the beach. And I don't ever go fishing. I just hide out here swimming & surfing & lying around."

"Mmmmm, that's obviously why you always look so relaxed – and brown" she muttered. "I was beginning to think you were visiting a tanning salon."

"Ha" he answered smiling. "Well now you know. Anyway, tanning salons are exceptionally dangerous places. I hope you'd never consider going to one – the levels of radiation absorbed by the human body in a single visit, far exceeds that…….." She placed a finger to his lips.

"Spare me the interesting facts Dr Hood," she whispered. "I was kinda enjoying the quiet version of you."

"That may be," he answered, "but I hope you put some sunscreen on before you came out here. You don't want……….."

She put her hand over his mouth, "Enough!!" She felt his hot breath on her hand, and then the tip of his tongue move across her palm. She moved her hand away.

He smiled, eyes still closed.

After a little while she spoke again. "I really enjoyed watching you swim last night. I never realised you were so good. Didn't you once tell me that you almost drowned?"

"Mmmm, that was in high school," he replied sleepily. "I swam so far out that I could barely see the shore. That was when I figured out that if you want to swim distance in the sea that you need to swim parallel to the shore. I grew up by the beach though. I can't remember ever not swimming."

As he continued to lie on the sand, eyes closed, she ran her fingers over the dark smattering of hairs on his chest and belly. His breath stopped momentarily as her fingers brushed the waist of his shorts. She walked them back up to his chest and toyed with the pearl.

"It's lovely," she said, "you should take care of it. It's not really the kind of thing you should wear swimming".

"Well, if I lost it to the sea it would just be returning to it's rightful home. We can only ever borrow what we take from nature, Rachel. Everything returns to it's home in the end."

"Even so," she replied, "I don't think I'd be so casual with it, it must have cost a fortune. Where did you get it from?"

"Maggie bought it for me on our honeymoon" he said, eyes still closed. "It's an Australian South Sea Pearl. From Broome."

She suddenly wished she'd never asked.

"One of the most beautiful places in the world" he murmured and she wondered if he was talking to her or himself. "Ancient, ancient landscape, red, red earth, blue, blue sky. Miles & miles of unbroken white sand and the most amazing turquoise sea you will ever lay your eyes on."

He stopped speaking and they sat in companionable silence.

She tipped her head back and felt the kiss of the sun on her face, the breath of the wind in her hair and the caress of the silky sand on her feet. Her senses felt alive. "It's so beautiful here Jake," she said, "I can't think of another place in the world I would rather be right now."

"Oh, I can think of one," he said softly. "The only place I want to be right now is inside you."

His words sent a jolt of electricity down her spine and she bent her head to his, kissing him full on the mouth. His kiss was deep and his demanding hands pulled her down onto him, clasping her body firmly to his.

"Take me back to bed, Dr Hood," she whispered.

"I thought you'd never ask, Agent Young," he replied and they scrambled together up the sand, back to the house.

As they climbed the steps of the deck, he swung her into his arms and carried her into the bedroom. "Would you like me to throw you on the bed" he asked, with a familiar twinkle in his eye.

"What I'd really like," she answered seductively, running her finger down his bare chest," is for you to take a shower. You're covered in sand and there's nothing worse than sand in the bed."

"Oh god, Rachel" he growled, "let's go back outside and I'll take you on the beach then. If you were as sandy as me it wouldn't matter. Please don't make me wait any longer."

"Excuse me," she laughed, "but who has been making who wait? Last night you disappeared off into the sea and this morning you were nowhere to be found. It seems to me that if you were that desperate, you would have made time by now."

"You should have swum with me last night," he said quietly, nuzzling her ear "we could have made love in the ocean." He kissed the hollow at the base of her neck and she arched her head back in enjoyment.

"Like a couple of dolphins you mean," she teased.

He stopped kissing her neck, looked at her with raised eyebrows and shook his head. He let her feet drop to the floor. "You have absolutely no romance in your soul, Agent Young. I'll go and shower, but tonight we _will_ make love in the ocean."

She raised one eyebrow quizzically and he shook his head as he made his way to the bathroom.

As he opened the door he turned back to her "and when I come out of this shower, I want to find your beautiful body naked in the middle of that bed."

"Since when did you make the rules" she called after him as he disappeared into the room.

"Since you started lusting after me" he shouted back.

She stood for a few minutes, slightly embarrassed by the thought of stripping off and waiting for him in the bed naked. Once again, the doubt that she felt whenever she was away from him began to fill her mind. "This really shouldn't be happening Rachel. You're making a bad, bad, decision here."

Unable to resist a peek however, she quietly pushed open the door of the bathroom and tentatively looked around the doorframe. He had her back to her in the shower and she watched appreciatively as the shampoo suds ran over his shoulder blades, down the small of his back and over his buttocks.

She turned back into the bedroom and leant against the wall, resting her head back, eyes closed. "Good lord help me," she thought. "It might be a bad idea but sometimes a bad idea is exactly right."

With a small sigh of submission, she quickly undressed and slipped between the sheets. As she lay there, watching the sea roll in, she noticed for the first time some other people on the beach. A young family with an excited toddler, an older couple throwing a stick for their dog.

Jacob walked into the room; wet hair dripping onto his chest, a white towel casually knotted round his hips. "Aaaah, I see we have an audience," he noted, walking over to the window and drawing the blinds. She was surprised that she could still see out of the window, the blinds providing only a muted white sheen.

"Don't worry," he said noticing her reaction, "they can't see in but we can still see out. I can't bear to not to be able to look at the ocean." He reached forward and drew back the sheet, "although I think this is the only view I'm interested in right now," eyeing her naked form appreciatively. "You - are – absolutely - exquisite."

Her embarrassment at his forthright comment was tempered only by her suddenly noticing a small, round black & white symbol low on his left hip, peeking over the top of the towel. "What's that Jake?" she asked. He looked at her with laughter in his eyes. His lips twitched.

"Do I need to explain everything to you Rachel?" he asked with raised eyebrows. Realising that he thought she was referring to his obvious arousal under the towel, she laughed.

"Very funny," she replied. "You know exactly what I mean. Is that a tattoo?"

She reached forward and traced the outline of the mark lightly with her finger. He drew breath sharply and his abdominal muscles tightened. "Please Rachel, I don't think I can stand if you touch me like that". She moved her hand to the towel and slowly undid the knot, letting it drop to the floor.

"And what about this?" she whispered, running her hand around the top of his right leg to his flank. "Is this a seahorse?" She ran her finger over the beautiful little creature. She had seen the small, artistically styled decoration low on the side of his hip, right at the point where it became his buttock as he showered, and was intrigued.

"Don't you ever, ever tell anyone that I have a seahorse tattooed on my ass," he growled.

Her hand followed the line of his lower hip round to his buttock and he tilted his head back, eyes closed.

"Rachel."

"I think it's time we got on with this Dr Hood" she murmured, and he slid down next to her, running his warm hand slowly over her breast and down to her hip. He stretched his body languidly along the length of hers and she felt every inch of his naked form contacting her skin. She slid her hand down past the circular mark on his hip, and wrapped her hand around his erection. He was hard & strong yet the skin was soft & warm. She broke the small droplet sitting at his tip with her thumb and he exhaled slowly at her touch.

"Well Agent Young, this gives new meaning to the term, handler" he whispered.


	7. Release

This chapter is the one most definitely rated M for sex and language – and I post it with great trepidation!! I apologise if it's not your thing, but it is an integral part of the story. Please stick with me though because the rest of this and following chapters, cover some important ground for Jacob & Rachel's relationship.

And the soundtrack is purely in Jacob's imagination. No matter that she doesn't really like the sea, Rachel is the surfer girl of his Californian youth. And what other time would he have this song in his head!!!!

Soundtrack: Surfer Girl – The Beach Boys

"So I say from me to you,

I will make your dreams come true,

Do you love me, do you surfer girl?"

* * *

Jacob ran his tongue down Rachel's neck from her earlobe to her collarbone. Her hand rested on his wet hair, his warm body still damp. When her lips touched his skin, he had an unmistakable taste of the salty sea despite his shower, and she wondered if he always tasted like this. Stubborn grains of sand still clung to his bare shoulders.

His mouth found her breast and his tongue followed the contour of her nipple until she gasped and squirmed beneath him. His tongue lapped at the centre of her cleavage and traced the line downwards to her navel.

"Jacob, no" she said softly as his dark head moved lower. She lifted his chin upward, "please don't". He looked surprised but slid back up. He kissed her on the mouth, sucking gently on her lower lip.

"Why?' he whispered into her mouth, "why don't…………."

"Not now, right now I just want to feel you".

He paused, "God Rachel, don't …………" She stopped him talking by winding her hand into his hair and kissing him passionately, her tongue tasting his lips, his teeth, his soul. She pushed her hips into his thigh and he groaned. He reached towards the drawer of the bedside cabinet. She put her hand over his.

"It's OK," she said 'the FBI issues all female operatives with contraceptive implants."

"Condoms don't just protect against pregnancy though," he whispered back, what about…………."

"Jacob Hood, there's no one man in the world that I trust more than you. Just tell me the truth – do I _need_ protecting against you or are you just trying to do the responsible thing as usual"

"Well it is the responsible thing and………………….."

"Jake, I can guarantee you that I'm 100% clean. As long as you can do the same I'm happy – we're not a couple of teenagers for god's sake. Now I've listened to the sun smart lecture, I don't need the safe sex one as well," she replied, "just fuck me."

Quickly he slid his hands down her body gripping her ass, and she opened to him. He entered her effortlessly, and buried his face into her hair, nipping at her shoulder. He didn't speak as he took her with long, slow, deep strokes and the only sound was the roar of the sea and the slap of skin against skin, body against body.

He kept low, their pubic bones never disconnecting and she felt every thrust as his pelvis ground into hers. She wrapped her legs around his narrow hips and they moved together. She felt the feeling building deep in her groin as he drove into her, never losing contact with her sensitive core.

She didn't often orgasm during sex, mainly because most men she had slept with had no idea how to make her. She also preferred to be the one in control, preferred not to expose herself to her lovers in that way. But she knew she had no hope of controlling this situation. She was completely at his mercy and he didn't let up for a moment, didn't lose that vital contact. She felt the muscles in her toes beginning to tighten and……………

Suddenly he stopped. He rocked back on his knees, hands clasped on top of his head. "No, no, no Rachel," he gasped, trying to catch his breath. "Don't think I'm just going to let you come like that. I've waited too long for this."

"But Jake," she said breathlessly, "we've had 18 hours of damn foreplay and you are so, so, good at this. How do you expect me not to?" She pulled him back down to her. Her every nerve ending was on fire and she needed him back in her and soon.

"Come on Jacob," she whispered as his mouth focussed on her neck, gently sucking her earlobe. The feeling of his hot breath in her ear and his hot hands on her body made her even more desperate for him. She pushed him onto his back and straddled him taking him inside her with one swift move. She liked to be in charge and now he had no choice but to do what she said.

"Don't you dare Rachel," he said menacingly. "I will _not_ let you go off like a firecracker after two fucking minutes. You might be in control when we're out on the streets, but here, I am the boss. And you, my gorgeous Rachel," he said, flipping her onto her back before she even realised it, "will be doing, exactly, what, I, say."

He held himself above her with his strong arms, barely brushing her body with his skin. His lips followed the contours of her body with the lightest of touches, occasionally flicking her with the hot tip of his tongue. He was driving her completely wild and she was sure he knew it. She tried to wrap her legs around his waist to get him back where she wanted him most but he was having none of it. He pinned her hips down with his hands and licked her nipples mercilessly.

"You need to settle down Rachel," he whispered into her skin. "Relax, enjoy. Remember it's not just the destination, it's the journey that matters."

"I hate fucking Zen," she said through gritted teeth.

He slid up her body until they were face to face. "Oh, Rachel," he whispered, biting his bottom lip, eyes narrowing. The faintest of smiles touched his lips; "I love it when you talk dirty."

"Oh, I've only just begun talking dirty to you Dr Hood. How about this? If you don't stop torturing me like this, I swear I will tie you to that chair at gunpoint and leave you here at the mercy of the seagulls. I don't know what the hell it was that you were doing before or where you learned it, but it was fucking amazing. So start doing it again and don't you dare stop this time."

"It's just a matter of biology and physics," he whispered, nipping at her earlobe, "and I am a biophysicist after all."

"Even I know that this has nothing to do with biophysics," she replied.

"It was worth a try," he murmured.

He kissed her mouth, his tongue finding hers in a dance of unbearable passion. His body relaxed onto hers at last so she could feel every inch of his hot skin touching her. His hands were everything and everywhere. She raked her fingernails from his shoulder blades to the bottom of his spine and he shuddered.

He pushed her legs apart with his thigh. Poised to enter her, he stopped for a moment and looked silently into her eyes, pupils dilated, and a bead of sweat forming on the side of his temple.

"Jacob, do it" she said, "do it now, before I fucking kill you."

He wound his hand tightly into her hair and slammed into her making her gasp with the shock of his intensity. This time he was hard and fast and fierce. He was setting her on fire all over again. She tried to hold back, not wanting to give him a reason to stop again, but the friction he managed to set up between them was unbearable.

Every nerve ending in her groin was being caressed with his every thrust and she responded, moving her hips into his. Over and over and over until there was not a single other thing in her universe. Just the feeling of him at the very centre of her. As her toes contracted and she felt the sensation moving up the inside of her legs, she wrapped her arms around his body tightly, holding him to her, feeling the ripple of his strong back muscles, not willing to let him go for a single second. In that moment she wanted time to stop, for them to be suspended together, forever, in that place.

"Jacob".

It was all she could do to say his name as it took hold of her and she shattered into a million tiny pieces. She struggled to keep watching his face, saw his eyes close and his jaw clench as he felt her tighten around him again and again and again. He groaned deep in his chest. She slid one of her hands down his back and gripped his hard ass, felt the big muscles contract as he lost himself to her, and then they were done.

They lay together, neither of them wanting to make the move that would break the contact between them. "Next time I'll try and last longer" she finally whispered to him.

He rolled onto his back and she laid her head on his deep chest.

"Well, I guess you were right," he replied languidly. "We did have 18 hours of foreplay."

"Do you always taste of salt?" she teased.

"Well, you'll have to lick me in the middle of the week to find out won't you?" She smiled and he kissed her forehead gently.

"Anyhow, I have a bone to pick with you," she said teasingly, "what was that business about not being celibate for the last 2 years, why did you feel you needed to tell me that?"

"Oh god," he groaned, "do we have to talk about this now?"

"Yes"

"This is why men sleep after sex," he muttered, "so they don't have to have deep & meaningful conversations."

"Tell me Jake."

He sighed, "I was trying to explain to you that the feelings I had were genuinely for you, I wasn't just a sad widower. Because I get that a lot. Women think they have to take pity on me when they find out".

"So who were all these women you slept with, I mean I didn't realise you were sleeping around while we were working".

"That is _exactly_ why I told you," he said, "I knew you didn't know. I knew you had an impression of me as some sort of higher being. But Jesus Rachel, I'm a normal human man; I can't go without sex for two and a half years. But believe me when I tell you that I wasn't sleeping around".

"And," he tapped her on the head, "I _always_ used condoms".

"Of course you did Jacob, that's why I knew I could trust you. Anyhow, more details please"

"God, no Rachel, how can you want to know this stuff?"

"I do. I want to understand you."

"OK, I'll tell you briefly – but no questions allowed". He sighed. "There were only 4. One woman I can barely remember whose arms I fell into after Maggie died, while I was drinking too much and feeling sorry for myself. Another one a few months later that I saw on and off for a little while; but it never really felt right. She met someone else and got married a couple of months ago. Then there was that detective from the LAPD, Cordero".

Rachel snorted.

"She called me a few weeks after that case had finished when she was in DC and I hooked up with her once. I think I was just a notch on her bed head though. I've never met such an aggressive woman".

"What about Professor Yang?"

"Anna?"

"I heard you on the phone that time making a date with her".

"Well I saw her that once when I was passing through Stanford, we had way too much to drink and ended up in bed, but we both knew it was a bad idea. She's still a good friend, but we'll never do it again".

"Do you think we're going to end up as a bad idea?"

He turned her face up to his and looked into her eyes.

"Rachel," he said quietly, "_you_ are the best idea I've had in a long, long time. Believe me when I tell you that if we'd been together from the first day I met you, the first day I wanted you, I never would have slept with any of those women. None of them meant anything to me. You mean everything."

"And did you ever bring them here?"

"You're the only woman I've _ever_ brought here," he whispered into her hair.

She snuggled down into his chest and couldn't help feeling a little warm glow from his words.

"OK, I'll let you sleep now", she said happily, running her hand over his belly.

"You know I don't sleep much," he said. "And anyway, _I _am absolutely starving. When was the last time we ate anything?"

He got to his feet, pulled on a pair of stone coloured shorts and walked into the kitchen.

"What do you feel like?" he called back to her. "I went out to the store earlier. I have eggs, toast, bacon, tomatoes & mushrooms for breakfast, and some cheese & bread, olives, salami & fruit for later."

"How about Frosties" she called back.

He stuck his head into the bedroom. "Rachel, you really do need to start eating like a grown up. I'll cook you a _real _breakfast. You need to keep your strength up you know."

"And why would that be?" she questioned.

He winked.


	8. Discovery

In this chapter Jacob talks, a lot, and Rachel continues her journey of discovery. The reason for this soundtrack becomes apparent further into the Chapter.

Soundtrack: Cool Change – The Little River Band

"If there's one thing in my life that's missing, it's the time that I spend alone

Staring at the cool and bright clear water"

* * *

As they ate, she broached the subject of the marks on his hip & flank again.

"Why do you have those tattoos?" she asked casually. "Never in my wildest dreams would I have taken you for a tat man!"

He smiled. "Can I see them again," she asked.

He pulled down the waistband of his shorts slightly with his thumb & she had to resist the urge to reach out and touch the circular mark nestled below his lower oblique muscle, next to the dark curls of his pubic hair.

It was the symbol of yin & yang, 2 fish entwined together in a never-ending cycle.

"I had this done when I completed my PHD," he said, in answer to her questioning look. "For me it represents the duality of life, the balance of science and humanity that I believe in. When I left Princeton and took up my first research posting, I realised that I'd need to work hard to not get lost in my work. To not get lost in my left brain – the side of me that's all logic and reason".

He motioned around the room, "this is the other side of me. The sea, nature, art, love. This is what enables me to do my job," he said. "If I was just left brained, I could only see the science, the logic, the facts. It's the right brain that has the intuition & creativity, makes the connections, looks beyond the facts. Solves the crimes, I guess."

He looked at her with a stillness and an openness to his face that she didn't think she'd ever seen before. "This symbol is to remind me to hold onto both sides. Life tries to drag us down Rachel. Responsibility, ageing, hate, war, death - you have to fight to hold on to what you believe to be true. If you don't, you'll just lose yourself. Lose your essence as a human being".

He looked out of the window to the sea. "That's why I come here whenever I can. To get away from what we have to do every day. The terrible things we've seen".

He shook his head and stared at the table. "I don't know about you Rachel, but this job as Special Science Advisor is the hardest thing I've ever had to do. I'm used to dealing with the science well enough, but dealing with the death, the lives ruined, the inhumanity, it takes its toll on me. I hate seeing the thing that I love, the science that has defined my life, used for such terrible purposes. I guess I come here to wash away the sins that I witness. To balance the yin with the yang."

He looked at her. She nodded and reached out over the table to touch his hand. He didn't have to say any more. She knew how hard it was for him.

"And the little seahorse" she asked?

"Well, that's much less interesting. I was fascinated with seahorses when I was a kid. Used to breed them. I always loved their courtship dance and the way the male seahorse carries the eggs around until they hatch and hundreds of tiny baby seahorses come flooding out of his pouch. I had the tattoo done when I was 15, during my 'I want to be a marine biologist' phase. I was young and stupid I guess. My parents hit the fucking roof when they found out."

"No," she said, "I like it. It's artistic and beautiful. It suits you." He stared silently into her eyes, but she didn't elaborate.

She stood and wandered around the room, looking at the pieces of art on the walls. Some were photos of the sea, the dunes, of patterns in the sand. A couple were paintings.

"The photos are mine," he said.

She stopped before a beautiful watercolour of the ocean, empty except for a lone figure swimming. The colours were vivid greens & blues. In the sky on the right hand side were some lines of verse.

Rachel read them out loud:

"I was born in the sign of water

And it's there that I feel my best,

The albatross & the whales they are my brothers.

It's kind of a special feeling

When you're out on the sea alone,

Staring at the full moon like a lover"

"And this?" she asked.

"That's Maggie's," he answered quietly.

"It's beautiful Jacob," she said. "Maggie was very talented." He got up from the table and stood next to her.

"Is that you?" she asked pointing to the lone figure.

"Yeah. And those are the lyrics to her favourite song. She said it reminded her of me."

She turned to him and hugged him close, wanting to takeaway the sadness that she saw in his eyes. After a few moments of stillness, she had to ask him.

"Jacob, is this the house that she died in?" He shook his head.

"No, I told you that you were the only woman that I'd ever brought here".

"I had to sell that house. I couldn't bear to be there anymore." He continued, slowly. "It was a beach house, a little like this I guess, but bigger. In California. I bought this one afterwards, as far away as possible. It was just a run down shack when I bought it. The land was being sold as a development opportunity. That was the only reason I could afford it. I spent 3 months holed up here. Avoiding life, avoiding grief. Renovated the whole place myself."

She looked up at him in amazement, not quite being able to picture him labouring around the house. "My god Jake, did you do that beautiful bathroom?" she asked.

"Oh yes, every tile," he answered. "I did it for Maggie, as a tribute to that painting."

She lent her forehead on his chest fighting the unmistakable urge to cry again. The thought of him here, alone, was unbearable. He sensed that she was trying to hold herself together and kept talking.

"When Frank called me and asked me to take on the FBI job it was a godsend. Got me out of my hole. Got me back into the world again. I come here when I need to escape it all, but for the most part it's all about the job at the moment. Although sometimes I wonder whether I've just substituted work for real life. But I guess that's the me that you know. That's the me that you've understood until now. So I can see that the truth could be a little hard to get your head around."

He gently pulled her face up to his and kissed her softly. "But you mustn't let it upset you," he said quietly. "You mustn't be sad for the life I've lived because that's what makes me who I am right now".

She looked at him, her face streaked with tears. "Human beings are complex creatures, Rachel," he said softly. "We all have a past. We've all lived a life. We all have strengths and failings".

He sat her down on the couch and put his arm around her as they stared out at the sea. She put her head on his shoulder. "Sometimes I'm weak," he said, "sometimes I lose my temper. Sometimes I smoke even though I know it's bad for me. Sometimes I drink too much and stay in bed til noon. Sometimes I have cereal for dinner because I can't be bothered cooking."

He shook his head, green eyes fixed on the ocean. "In my life I've lied, I've taken drugs and hotwired a car. I've cheated on girlfriends and slept around and called in sick to work when I was hung over or wanted to go surfing. I've travelled, I've worked, I've won, I've lost".

"I held my wife in my arms as she died and regretted all the things I never said to her. And afterwards I cried, not for her, but for myself. Cried for the future I'd never have. Cried for my children that would never be born."

He paused. "Love me for who I am Rachel, but please don't pity me for my past. You can't change any of it. Understand that the future is all we have."

They sat in silence.

Eventually he kissed the top of her head, got up to make some coffee, and she went and sat on the bed. She wanted to bury her face in her hands and weep for him, but knew it would only make things harder.

So she went into the bathroom, brushed her hair, & washed her face with cold water. He was sitting on the couch with his coffee when she went back to him. She took the cup from him, put it down on the coffee table and straddled him, sitting on his lap so they were face to face. She kissed him, long and deep, grasping his beautiful head in her hands. "You get to pick this time," she said. "I chose the bed so the next choice is yours."

"Right here will do just fine," he murmured, slowly undoing the buttons on her shirt. He ran his long thumbs over her nipples sending a shiver of anticipation up her spine, and she could feel the hard length of him through his shorts. "I don't think I could manage to stand, let alone walk anywhere right now".

Over the course of the day they ate, talked, walked on the beach, and he swam, a lot. She discovered there were lots of good things about him that she didn't know either. He could make a mean margarita and a great guacamole. He was unbeatable at scrabble and was exceedingly ticklish. She discovered he had a bizarre, off the wall sense of humour and to her delight, an enthusiastic, little boy laugh. She realised that she'd never really heard him laugh – not a full on belly laugh and she absolutely adored it when he did.

Of course there was already something that she did know about him - that it was damn hard to keep him quiet sometimes.

He slipped slices of peach into her mouth as they lay on the sand, and while she sucked the juice off his fingers he explained to her the scientific research involved in replicating the sweetness levels of white fleshed heritage peaches in yellow fleshed commercial varieties.

They had hot, wet, soapy sex in the shower after he discussed the chemistry of hard and soft water and their effect on soap lather.

And so when he lay her on the cool granite kitchen benchtop and drizzled honey in her navel, she finally let him explore every inch of her body with his broad tongue to save her having to listen to him explain the threat of the Varroa bee mite to the honeybee population. He was mercifully quiet at last, although she certainly wasn't.

He liked her to sit out on the sand, but Rachel preferred to curl up on Jacob's giant couch and look out over the ocean. She enjoyed watching him swim in his easy relaxed style, but most of all she liked to watch him play. He would run into the water and dive under waves, porpoising up and under then catching the surf back to the shore, bodysurfing in the foam. She loved how relaxed and happy he was here, in his element, compared to the outside world where he so often seemed uncomfortable, a little out of place.

Her eyes drifted to Maggie's painting of him and she read the words to herself – I was born in the sign of water, and it's there that I feel my best.

"You were a very wise woman Maggie" she thought to herself "you understood him", and suddenly felt a bond to this woman whom he had loved, the woman she would never meet. She was overcome with a terrible feeling of sadness – an understanding of what she must have gone through. It must have been so, so hard for her to go. To finally loosen the grip of her fragile hold on life, and leave Jacob behind. The hardest thing she would have ever had to do.

"I'll look after him for you" Rachel whispered as a tear rolled down her cheek.

And at midnight, when she lay peacefully in his arms in the big white bed, he took her by the hand and led her down to the shore. He finally convinced her that there was no one around and she let him undress her. As they walked naked into the dark ocean she was surprised by how warm it was on that hot summer night, and as she slipped under a gentle wave she experienced the most amazing sense of freedom. He stayed close by her and as they swam and floated together, she revelled in the feeling of the water on her body and felt as clean and as free as a child. And when she could resist the lure of his naked body no longer she wrapped her legs around his waist, wound her hands into his hair and kissed him until his mouth dripped blood into the black sea. They made love in the ocean and she knew then that this beautiful man would hold her heart in his hands for all time.


	9. Happiness

Because we've had our fill of deep and meaningfuls, this chapter is a little bit of fun for our two lovebirds as they enjoy their Sunday.

This soundtrack is a bit of fun too. Apologies to those who aren't into the Beach Boys but I couldn't resist this (you'll see why later in the chapter). Again, have a look on youtube if you aren't familiar with it (only 1:51 so it won't take long!!!).

Soundtrack: Shut Down – The Beach Boys

"It happened on the strip where the road is wide

Two cool sharps standin side by side

Yeah my fuel injected stingray and a 413

We're revving up our engines and it sounds real mean"

* * *

"Rachel, are you awake?" She felt a slight nudge in her back. She opened one eye.

"What is it Jake?" she murmured. She was lying on her side facing the edge of the big white bed. The room was awash with muted sunlight streaming gently through the blinds.

"Do you want to do the crossword with me?"

"Do I want to do the crossword with you? Do I _want_ to do the crossword with you? Is it Sunday?"

"Yep, it's a glorious sunny Sunday."

"And what's the time?"

"It's 9.00am. I've been to the store and bought fresh croissants and coffee for breakfast. And I got the paper. So we could do the crossword."

"Fuck off Jacob".

She pulled the pillow over her head to block out the light and went back to sleep.

******

When she finally awoke and padded into the big room, he was sitting at the table reading the paper. He was wearing damp boardshorts and his hair was wet. He looked up at her and raised his eyebrows, folding his arms across his bare chest. "Do you always sleep this late on Sundays?" he asked, smiling.

"Only when I've been up half the night swimming in the damn ocean with a crazy man," she replied grumpily. "I really need some coffee."

"Well you just sit your pretty little bottom down on that couch and I'll get you some."

"What's the time," she asked, yawning.

"It's 11.30," he replied, setting her cup down on the coffee table. "Half the day has nearly gone. I don't really understand sleeping in. It's such a waste of time."

"Get used to it." She took a big mouthful of the fresh hot coffee and rested her head back, eyes closed. "I don't understand people who are unbearably chipper and enthusiastic on Sunday mornings."

"Well anyway," he said, "I've been thinking."

"What a surprise" she muttered.

"After you've showered and packed, why don't we drive into town and have a nice lunch somewhere before we have to leave. I think we deserve a little celebration. I know a couple of good places on the beach."

"That sounds remarkably civilised" she commented "I thought you'd have a deep sea diving excursion or something lined up for us."

He laughed his enthusiastic laugh.

"You _are_ in a mood this morning" he said, sitting next to her on the couch. "I know something that might cheer you up." He lay down on his back next to her, head in her lap, and started undoing the buttons on her pyjama top.

"Don't you think we've had enough sex this weekend?" she murmured, eyes still closed.

"Well, no, not really," he said shrugging his shoulders. "As far as I'm concerned, enough and sex are mutually exclusive terms."

She stood up, and he rolled onto the floor as her lap disappeared. "I am going to have a shower, on my own, and then I'm going out for a nice lunch" she said and disappeared into the bathroom.

He lay his head back onto the floor, "So you're not really a morning person then," he called after her.

******

An hour or so later, she was ready to leave and after Jacob had written a note for the cleaner who came on Mondays, they headed out the back door to where the SUV was parked. Rachel hadn't been out here since they had arrived late on Friday night, and she was surprised to see a large shed nestled into the dunes. "What's in there, Jake?" she asked as he locked the door to the house.

"Oh, you know, usual shed rubbish. Paint, tools, just boring stuff."

"It's a pretty big shed just to house some tools" she replied, walking over to it. Her FBI instincts told her there was more to this shed than he was letting on. She noticed tyre marks in the sand leading up to the big double doors. The shed was padlocked shut.

"Are you going to let me see inside?" she asked.

"Well we don't want to waste time if we're going to have lunch and then drive back to DC. It's really not very interesting. I'll show you another time".

She grabbed the keys from his hand "I want you to show me now Jake. If it's really not that interesting it'll only take a minute".

"No, no, no" he said trying to get the keys back off her. "The padlock gets stuck and you'll only complain about the mess".

"Now Jake. Which key opens this padlock?"

He sighed, and reluctantly showed her the key to unlock the big padlock. She undid it and swung open the wide door. She stood and looked. To her absolute amazement she found a gleaming red open topped sports car. "What the hell………………………."

She turned and stared at him "It's a car. A Corvette Stingray Convertible."

"I know" he raised his eyebrows and bit his bottom lip playfully. "1969 model"

"But………."

He shrugged. "A man's gotta have some toys," he said.

"But you hate driving"

"I don't _hate_ driving. I just hate driving enormous tanks like that", he motioned to the SUV, "in the city when I've got my mind on other things".

"Well, we'll be going out to lunch in _this_ I think," she said happily. "Throw me the car keys".

"No. I don't think so".

"You know I'm not going to let you drive".

"I _know_ that this driving business is just a power trip for you" he replied, laughing. "I'm perfectly capable of driving my own car. Anyhow, it's about time you were the passenger," he said with a wink.

She wasn't happy. One thing he didn't know about her yet was that she was a car freak. She loved to drive, and the faster the better. And she would love to drive this baby!!!

But she decided not to push him on this occasion lest she had to explain this particular obsession to him, and so walked round the back of the Corvette running her hand along the gleaming red paintwork, to get to the passenger door.

As she reached the back of the car, she saw a doorway leading into a partitioned room at the back of the shed. The partition appeared to be made of rolled steel, a shed within the shed in fact, and the door was padlocked.

"What's in here?" she called back to him.

"Oh, nothing important" he muttered, slipping into the drivers seat of the Corvette.

"Get out of that car right now Hood" she said crossly. "You know I'll find out what's in here sooner or later, so it may as well be sooner".

"You already have the keys in your hand" he said resignedly, and she tried a couple before the padlock would open.

She went inside the room and he rested his head back on the car seat and closed his eyes, waiting for the inevitable.

All was quiet for a minute or two before she re-emerged. "Ha!" she said triumphantly, "I knew it. I knew there was a sci-fi geek in you somewhere. I just didn't know I'd have to come so far to find it!"

In one hand she brandished an old boxed Luke Skywalker figure and in the other a stack of console games. "I knew it!" And she went back into the room.

He got out of the car and walked to the doorway. He flicked on the light to reveal the room was stacked with boxes and boxes of Star Wars toys all in original packaging. "I started collecting these in 1977 when the first movie came out. Guess I was about 9 or 10. Never played with them mind you. Just collected them. You know they're worth a fortune now, but I can't ever see me selling them".

"Ha ha ha, _you_ are a Star Wars nerd," she laughed, tapping him on the chest with her index finger. "And what about these?" she said motioning to a huge stack of console games. "Why have you got all these here. You don't even have a TV in that house".

He raised one eyebrow and grabbed one of the games. "Come on, I guess I'll have to show you".

They went back into the house and from within a drawer at the base of the big wooden cabinet in the living area, he took out a complicated looking remote control. He pressed a button and a set of blockout blinds started to descend from a recess above the picture window. Another button, and a huge flatscreen also descended from the same recess. He unlocked a side door on the cabinet and swung it open. She walked over to where he was standing and with raised eyebrows, inspected the complete collection of games consoles – Xbox, Wii, Playstation, along with a DVR and micro stereo system and some other electronic gadgetry that she didn't even recognise.

"I knew all this swimming and surfing and lying about on the beach and doing crosswords was all to good to be true. This is what I'm really letting myself in for isn't it. You're really just a boy – a bonafide science geek boy!" She turned towards him.

He shrugged, "what were you really expecting? Anyhow, I don't play that often," he laughed. "But it does get cold and stormy here in winter. I can't go outside, so I have to have _something_ to do," he said with a wink.

"Now that it's all unlocked though, we could have a quick game of this" he said hopefully, holding up Super Mario Kart, "it's the new Wii version!"

She folded her arms and sighed. "Jacob, just because I _know_ about them, doesn't mean I'm going to play them with you. Let's go for lunch. And I'm driving".

"No, you're not"

******

They had lunch at a beautiful café on the beachfront, seated under a big market umbrella to shade their table from the warm afternoon sun.

She was surprised at the difference she felt being out with him socially, compared to the many times they'd eaten together on assignment. His hand on the small of her back guiding her to the table, his easy laugh as he popped an olive in her mouth, the touch of his hand as he handed her a drink. He looked contented and joyful, and she couldn't help but look at him through new eyes. She had looked at his face a thousand times, but now, out in public, she couldn't help but notice how handsome he really was compared to all the other men she could see, and her heart secretly swelled with pride.

After antipasto and a glass of Moet:

("Jacob, we shouldn't be drinking before we have to drive home"

"Oh live a little Rachel. A single glass of champagne over a couple of hours with a meal is not going to send you plummeting over the blood alcohol limit. We should celebrate – and if we're only having one glass, let's make it a good one"),

Rachel chose a seafood platter, and Jacob ordered a medium rare rib eye steak.

"I really don't know how you can eat that," he said watching her slide an oyster into her mouth. "I must admit it's very erotic to watch". His nostrils flared slightly, "really, really erotic in fact, but………….."

He shuddered.

"Well you don't seem to be having any problems eating a dead cow" she retorted, "and it's still bleeding. What's the difference?"

Suddenly another thought struck her from out of nowhere. "So where are the tanks?" she asked.

"Army tanks", he frowned, questioningly.

"You know the tanks I mean. The tanks for your animal collection".

He looked at her, eyebrows raised.

"I'm willing to bet that if you're enough of a geek to have a shed full of Star Wars toys and every games console known to man, that you also have tanks of animals as well".

He stared.

"Ha!" She said. "I bet you still have a seahorse collection don't you?"

He continued to look at her, silently.

She stared back, eyebrows raised expectantly.

Then a smile crept onto his face and he broke into a laugh. "Ooooh, Rachel. You're good, you're very good. Too damn good in fact". He shook his head. "Ok, in the DC house, I have a back room. With some tanks. Nothing exciting. A few lizards, some fish, a snake".

"And…………"

"And what?"

"And……….." she looked at him expectantly, eyebrows raised.

"Ok, and the seahorses."

"I knew it. She did a little happy dance of triumph in her seat. "I knew it! What happens when you go away though?"

"There's a little boy, lives next door, comes in and feeds them for me. I really only keep them for him. He's crazy about them".

"I knew it!" She continued eating, happily.

"You just love being right don't you?"

"Oh, don't you just know it, Dr Hood".

"You don't need to be quite so smug though. It's not very becoming, Agent Young".


	10. Love

And so we reach the final chapter – please be aware that this also carries the language & sex warning mentioned earlier (Jacob made me do it!!)

The soundtrack for this chapter is the song that Jacob would have written for Rachel if he indeed played the guitar and wrote novels and rode a white stallion bareback down the beach. But we know that he doesn't do those things so he had to rely on James Taylor to write it for him!

Soundtrack: Something in the Way She Moves – James Taylor

"There's something in the way she moves

Or looks my way or calls my name,

That seems to leave this troubled world behind.

If I'm feeling down and blue

Or troubled by some foolish game,

She always seems to make me change my mind.

And I feel fine anytime she's around me now,

She's around me now, almost all the time.

And if I'm well you can tell that she's been with me now,

She's been with me now, quite a long, long time and I feel fine"

* * *

Rachel stood in front of the candy display in the gas station trying to work out what it was she really wanted. They didn't have her favourite licorice and she couldn't decide whether she wanted soft jellies or chewy fruits.

"You do realise that sugar is as addictive as nicotine, don't you?" Jacob whispered into her ear. He came up behind her and slipped his arm around her waist.

"Well at least it won't give me lung cancer," she purred. She hadn't realised he was there and the feel of his body took her by surprise. It had been several hours since they had originally left the house to have lunch, swapped the cars over and then started the long drive back to DC, and she realised that she had already begun to miss the feel of him. She closed her eyes and luxuriated in his warmth for a few moments. There was an unmistakable heat developing in her groin and she pushed slightly back into him.

"Mmmmmm, you're just teasing me now" he growled quietly and his hot breath in her ear had her imagining him gripping her hips and and thrusting into her where they stood.

"I'm going to let go of you now" he whispered, "before I'm too embarrassed to walk out of here. I'll meet you in the car. And don't forget I'm driving the next leg so you can rest".

She avoided looking the station attendant in the eye as she paid for her candy, sure he must know exactly what they had been saying. As she walked back to the car she pondered the effect Jacob was having on her. She wasn't normally prone to erotic fantasies, but since she'd met him in that bar on Friday night, she could think of nothing else but his mouth and his face and his body. Good god, she'd sat next to him, worked with him for all these months completely oblivious to anything but friendship and respect, but all it took was a word from him to have her in a puddle on the floor.

As he drove, she looked at his face from the passenger seat. It was strange seeing him from a different angle, but at the same time, everything about him seemed so very familiar, so very safe, as though she'd always known him, always loved him. Maybe she hadn't realised how close they'd grown over that time, they'd certainly been through a lot together, spent a lot of time in each other's company, come to rely upon each other. He'd refused several times to get a new handler and perhaps she should have read more into that than she did. But she'd been trained to keep her mind solely on the job, to push away personal feelings lest they interfere with her work. He obviously hadn't.

"Jake, why did you call me on Friday afternoon?" she finally asked.

He raised his eyebrows and considered his answer for a few minutes. The setting sun on his face gave him a warm glow and when he spoke, his velvet voice was low and quiet.

"I called you because I missed you. And missing you was like a pain in my chest that there was no relief from. An ache with no end. I didn't need to drink Rachel, I was drunk on desperation."

"It was just so unlike you though Jacob. I could barely believe it was really you speaking to me".

"Desperate men do desperate things Rachel. And, well, you needed to see me differently."

"What would you have done if I'd just slapped you on the face and walked out though?"

"I would have gone home & got _really_ drunk," he said simply.

They drove in silence for a few minutes as she tried to digest his words.

"What did you really mean when you said that life isn't about love & romance & happy endings though?"

He looked at her briefly, concerned by her question. "Rachel, one thing I know by now is that life is a day to day proposition. I used to think it was about love & romance & happy endings but not so much anymore. I think maybe I'm a little scared of thinking too far ahead. Maybe I'm ok with the love & romance, but not so big on the happy endings now".

"You don't need to be scared with me Jake, you know that don't you? I'm not going anywhere".

He smiled.

"Anyhow, have you thought that maybe your happy ending just hasn't happened yet? Maybe you're still in the middle of the story".

He raised his eyebrows thoughtfully, "Ha, I've never thought about it like that. I like it"

After a few minutes, she spoke again.

"Had you really wanted me for all that time though?" she asked.

"Every minute, of every day, since the first moment I met you" he replied. "You don't _really_ think I sat on that panic button by accident do you?"

She dug him in the ribs.

"Do you know that I had to keep my hands in my pockets to stop me from reaching out and touching you sometimes" he said.

"But why did you wait so long then?"

"Because I thought you'd just ask for a transfer away from me. And I didn't want any other handlers. If all I could do was work next to you for the rest of my life, I'd choose that over losing you".

She leaned over and kissed his cheek.

"I think that's the single nicest thing anyone's ever said to me, Jacob Hood."

She ran her hand down his chest and belly until it rested on his thigh. "Pull over somewhere. Somewhere secluded," she whispered in his ear.

"Why, what's wrong?" he asked

"I'm thinking about what else you told me that night," she said. "Desire………..lust………..want………..." She slid her hand into his crotch and started undoing the row of buttons on his jeans.

"Jesus Rachel, I _will_ crash the car if you start doing that".

"Pull over then".

A few minutes up the road they started to drive through State forest and when they came to a rest stop he pulled in, then took a track leading into the forest. He stopped the car in a thick grove of trees.

By this time she had his pants completely undone and was winding her tongue into his ear.

"In the back Jacob" she said seductively, "now".

She scrambled into the big backseat of the SUV, and pulled him into the back with her, her mouth desperate for him. She pulled his t-shirt over his head, pushed his jeans and trunks down and straddled his lap.

His hands slipped under her dress to her hips and when his hands felt her bare buttocks his eyes narrowed. "Have you had nothing on under this dress all day?" he asked slyly.

"I took them off at the gas station," she replied, sucking on his earlobe.

He moved one hand between her thighs and she melted at his touch.

"I'm so glad you're not obsessed with this brazilian business," he murmured. "I want to have sex with a woman, not a 12 year old girl. Pubic hair has a biological purpose you know, it's………."

"Stop talking Jacob," she whispered and she filled his mouth with her tongue, tasting him deep and long. He kicked his pants off of his feet and started to move on top of her. She stopped him.

"No, I want to stay like this" she whispered.

"But I can't do anything like this" he replied.

"Oh, I don't want you to do anything" she murmured, "this one is all me". She knew exactly what she wanted to do to him and started moving her hips, caressing him with her thighs. His erection was pressed between their bodies but she didn't want him in her just yet.

"Let me fuck you," he whispered.

"No, no, no" she said, "what was it you told me - you're not letting me go off like a firecracker after two minutes? Well now you're going to suffer just like you made me". She bit his neck gently, nipping the skin with her teeth and then running her tongue up to his ear.

"But you're so wet" he murmured.

"All the better for torturing you, Jake". She moved his hands back onto her buttocks letting him feel her movement. His tip was perfectly placed to rub against her hot nerve endings and she gripped his shoulders tightly as she enjoyed the feel of his hardness caressing her.

He groaned as her fingers dug into the welt on his shoulder but when she moved her hand away, he put his hand over hers, keeping it there. "Don't stop, the pain feels good," he whispered.

Her breasts were at the level of his mouth and she brushed her nipple gently across his lips. She needed him to lick her and when his hot tongue touched her nipple, she almost lost herself. One of his hands came up her back, pressing her breasts into him.

"You're killing me," he murmured.

"Good" she replied. She was so close to coming but didn't want this delicious moment to end, so knew she had to change. She moved her hips away from him, breaking the contact and freeing his erection. Both of his hands moved back to her butt and she knew he was trying to take control.

"You can put your hands on my ass," she whispered "but don't you try getting inside me just yet". She raised up on her knees so there was some air between them and slipped off her dress. Now she was completely naked and he ran his hands up her back and down to her hips.

"I cannot get enough of your body," he whispered and his words made her shiver. She was driving herself crazy now, desperately wanting him to fill her but not wanting this moment to be over. She raised up as high as she could on her knees and stretched her hands above her head touching the ceiling of the car.

He licked her belly and she stayed like this for a few moments enjoying the feel of his tongue. As she lowered herself onto him, his tongue ran upwards and he took her breast into his mouth just as she took the full length of his erection into her body. She gasped at the feel of him sliding into her, it always surprised her how good he felt, and she rocked her hips in a circular motion.

"Jesus Rachel," he groaned "I don't know about going off like a firecracker, I'm going to blow like the fourth of fucking July if you keep this up".

"Oh, I'm going to keep it up" she whispered back "and you're going to enjoy every second of it". She ran her hand down between her legs, touching herself exactly where she needed to and maintained the circular motion with her hips. He made a guttural sound in his throat, not able to express the words that he wanted to say.

Their bodies were pressed together without a millimetre of air between them and when she felt herself beginning to lose control again, she moved her hand away and whispered to him, "turn sideways, I want to put my legs out behind you".

He turned, putting his legs up on the car seat and leaning slightly sideways against the back of the carseat to give him some stability. She was sitting fully in his lap, her legs on either side of his hips and she stretched them out behind him on the seat and changed her motion to a long, slow, back and forward.

He tipped his head backwards, eyes closed, mouth slightly open, "what the hell are you doing to me?"

She was totally in control now, she had control of the speed, the depth, the intensity, and as she took him deeper and deeper with each thrust of her hips, she could see him beginning to lose control. He had started to sweat and his breathing had grown hoarse, rattling in his throat.

She was usually swept up in the heights of her own bliss when he came, but this time, with his face right in front of her and all the control in her hands, she wanted to watch him, wanted to watch the effect that she had over him. She bent her knees with each stroke taking him all the way from tip to base with each long movement. His hands were pressed hard into her back and she could feel his fingernails starting to dig into her skin. She ran her hands down his back. His strong muscles were tense and taut and she feathered her fingers lightly all the way back up to his neck.

He shivered, and she whispered gently in his ear, "I want to watch your face when you come".

His hands ran down to her hips and he gripped her tightly. He moved one hand to her upper thigh, his long thumb between her legs caressing her exactly where she didn't want him too. She wanted this to be all about him, and she tried to move his hand but he whispered, "I want you with me, you know I'm not ever leaving you behind".

His touch was all she needed to tip her over the edge and she felt the beginnings of her orgasm sparking through her like an electric current. His other hand went up her back pressing her body tightly to his. She wanted to see his face but his head was buried in her shoulder and as she felt him come, thrusting his hips up into her, he bit down hard on the side of her neck. The pain was exquisite, matching the intensity of feeling he was eliciting in her groin and as her world exploded she held his dark head tightly to her chest, wanting neither pleasure nor pain to stop.

They stayed like this for a few moments, breathing heavily before he flopped down flat on his back on the car seat. "You can't be doing this to me Rachel," he gasped.

"Why?" she asked innocently, laying forward on his chest and running her fingers through the soft hairs on his belly. "I thought you'd enjoy a happy ending".

"Jesus Christ" he murmured into her hair.

******

The drive back to DC took almost an hour and a half longer, because of the Sunday afternoon traffic and their little detour into the forest. By the time she pulled up in front of his house, they were both tired.

"I won't stay," she said to him gently. "I need a little time to think. I'll pick you up at 9am for court tomorrow".

He nodded and got out of the car, leaning in the drivers window to kiss her. His mouth hovered over hers not wanting to break away, his lips feathering her mouth. He still tasted like the ocean. She touched his cheek gently and he rested his face on her hand. He closed his eyes and rubbed his cheek slowly on her open palm. His eyes opened and he looked at her.

"You know I love you, don't you Rachel", he whispered gently. "With all my heart."

"Yes" she murmured. "Yes I do". Her natural defences wouldn't let her say it, she couldn't be as open as him just yet, but as he gazed into her soul with his eyes as deep and green as the sea he loved, he smiled. She saw that he didn't need her to say it, that he just knew.

"Come inside" he whispered. "I'll show you my seahorses."

"I've seen enough of your bare ass for one weekend" she teased him gently, and he laughed.

She started the engine, and after one more lingering kiss she pulled the car away from the curb. As she drove down the street she watched him in the rear vision mirror, standing there, thumbs tucked into the pockets of his jeans, until she could see him no more.

"I love you too Jacob Hood", she whispered to herself.

******

This is short epilogue to the story. It wasn't long enough to include as a whole chapter, but I wanted it to have it's own soundtrack.

This is Jacob's happy song – again, please have a look on youtube if you're not familiar with it. It's just about the happiest song I know!

Soundtrack: Pencil Full of Lead – Paolo Nutini

"Best of all, I've got my baby

Oh, best of all I've got my baby

She's mighty fine and says she's all mine

And nothing's gonna bring me down!!"

* * *

The next morning, they arrived promptly at the District Courthouse at 9.30am. Jacob had been called as an expert witness in a local case they had recently completed, and Felix & Rachel were to appear as the arresting officers.

Jacob had been unbearable in the car on the drive in, looking like the cat that had got a very large dish of cream. He was dressed in a conservative button down shirt and jacket, and she felt a little wistful that she could no longer see his bare brown arms. He obviously felt the same.

"Back into long pants I see, Agent Young," he said to her smiling.

"_You_ will have to stop that smiling when we get there," she hissed at him.

"What, I can't even smile?" he said with raised eyebrows. "But I've seen you naked Rachel. What am I supposed to do? We've had sex in the back of this car".

"Just get a grip Hood," she snapped at him. "Don't you forget that I know what you have tattooed on your pretty ass and I won't hesitate to use it against you if I have to."

"Aaaah, but using it against me will only incriminate you" he replied with a wink. He turned his head and looked out of the window studiously, but was unable to stop smiling.

"We _will_ need to talk about this," she said frowning at him. "We're going to have to decide how we're going to handle um, things."

"Don't start getting crazy on me Rachel, we just need to be discreet for now. We'll work it out – I'll work it out."

"Well while you're working it out, you need to stop grinning like the freaking Cheshire Cat"

They met up with Felix outside the court. "Well, how was your weekend Dr Hood?" he asked cheerfully. "Warm wasn't it?"

Jacob stood with his hands in his jacket pockets staring at the ground, scuffing his shoes on the footpath.

"Yep, yep, it was certainly warm," he said nodding. "Same old weekend for me though. Little accident in the car on Friday evening but otherwise, you know,……………."

He shrugged and looked away, trying to hide his irrepressible grin.

"Ah yes, that reminds me. I have some news about your car" Felix said pulling a phone and a piece of paper out of his inside jacket pocket. "The towing company contacted me on Saturday morning. Here's your cell phone, they found it next to the car – called me because they couldn't get in touch with either of you".

Rachel glanced at Jacob swiftly.

"The car needs the side panel & roof replacing – will be about 3 weeks. Do you want me to arrange a hire car for you?"

"Thanks Felix but that's ok, I'll look after him," Rachel cut in. Felix turned to her.

"How about you Agent Young, how was your weekend?" he enquired enthusiastically. "You're looking very relaxed I must say".

"Oh, I managed to get away to the beach for a couple of days" she said casually.

"Nice" replied Felix, "although I thought the sea wasn't really your thing?"

"Oh", she said with a shrug, "It's growing on me. It's a little salty though."

**The End **– thanks for sticking with me!!!!


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